Ashley Young was Inter s inspiration with a goal and an assist as Antonio Conte s men concluded their 2019-20 Serie A campaign by beating Atalanta 2-0 on the road, in turn securing a second-place finish.
Any one of Inter, their hosts and Lazio could have clinched the runner-up spot behind champions Juventus on Saturday, but the Nerazzurri – who were second going into the final round of fixtures – produced a professional and clinical display away to an Atalanta side that were nowhere near their exhilarating best.
Just 50 seconds had elapsed before Danilo D Ambrosio gave Inter the lead from a pinpoint Young delivery, before the former Manchester United captain scored a gorgeous goal to put Inter in complete control.
Atalanta – reportedly missing star man Josip Ilicic for personal reasons – rarely looked capable of clawing their way back into the contest, but nevertheless finished third for a second season running despite Inter coasting to a straightforward win.
8 Ashley Young (four goals, four assists) has been involved in 8+ goals in a single season in the top-5 European leagues for his first time since 2011/12, 13 with Manchester United. Rediscovery.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo)
Conte s side enjoyed an emphatic start as they took the lead inside the first minute – D Ambrosio heading in Young s cross after Pierluigi Gollini came for the delivery and missed it.
Atalanta hardly registered a response and their task doubled in size in the 20th minute, Young this time doing it all alone as he cut in off the left flank and curled a sumptuous 25-yard effort into the bottom-right corner.
The curiously subdued hosts finally crafted an opening just before half-time, but once again Young was in the right place for Inter, this time blocking Mario Pasalic s volley after missing Alejandro Gomez s initial cross.
Excitement was even rarer in a generally monotonous second half, though Gomez did at least force Samir Handanovic into a necessary save in the 54th minute.
Atalanta enjoyed a little pressure in the latter stages, but Duvan Zapata s woeful poked effort was blazed high, before Ruslan Malinovskiy drilled a couple of efforts wide from distance.
What does it mean? Inter get the job done as Atalanta s focus appears elsewhere
In the grand scheme, Saturday s result carried little importance. While Atalanta would have surely been pleased to secure a first-ever second-place finish in Serie A, failing to accomplish that does not render their season any less of a success.
While their performance against Inter was disappointing, it would be understandable if their attention is already on the upcoming Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Evergreen Young
Young has taken to Serie A impressively, with his goal involvements here taking him to eight for the season (four goals, four assists) despite only joining Inter midway through the campaign. He also made a crucial block to deny Pasalic when a goal might have given Atalanta the push they needed.
Zapata falls short of expectations
So often reliable for Atalanta, it was not Zapata s day here. The Colombian had three shots in the match two were feeble efforts, and the last the a hopeless prodded attempt that sailed well over from inside the box.
What s next?
These two now turn their attentions toward Europe, with Atalanta set to face PSG in Lisbon on August 12 for their Champions League quarter-final.
Inter head to Gelsenkirchen, where they will go up against Spanish side Getafe for a place in the last eight of the Europa League next Wednesday.
